


the skull of a girl made of flowers

by moriphyte



Series: how sad a flower [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Abuse, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 08:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10486281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moriphyte/pseuds/moriphyte
Summary: "I left a flower on the grave of a girl who had yet to die"High school fuckin sucks man





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is set when the betas are sophomores in high school so like three years before hsaf. I wanted to write something with Dave and Terezi when they were still dating and kind of why that...didn't work.  
> Spicy chicken day was the best fuckin day at my high school and oh shit I should have said something about the twitter account that rated the cookies everyday. Also I got asked about the free lunch program a lot cause I was always paying for my breakfast with change and one dollar bills I pulled out of my backpack.

"Hurry up dude it's spicy chicken day" you say, slinging your backpack over your shoulder and turning to face the boy still packing up his things at the desk beside yours  
"Maybe if you didn't take out nothing but a pen for class I could pack up as fast as you but I actually do shit in class so your skinny ass is just going to have to wait, Strider" he says, trying to force his history textbook into his dirty grey jansport  
"But they're gonna run out, I can already see the line from here come on" you whine, poking at his shoulder  
"Yeah Karkat, don't you want spicy chicken?" Terezi asks, taking a hold of your arm as she leans forward to shove her grinning face close to his  
Sometimes you wonder if she knows how bad her personal space senses are or if she just doesn't care. You, personally, suspect that it's the latter.  
"Of course I want spicy chicken just give me a god damn second, Jesus Christ" he says, zipping up his backpack as far as it will go, the zipper is broken, and throwing it on his back  
"There, happy?" He asks  
You and Terezi glance at each other and grin, "hell yeah"

The cafeteria is packed with students, as it always is at lunch time, and you push your way through the crowd, weaving around groups of talking people and dirty tables as you make your way to the back of the cafeteria  
You're leading the way with Terezi right behind you, one hand holding loosely to the sleeve of your favorite red sweatshirt. Behind her Is Karkat who is allowing himself to be dragged after the two of you by Terezi's hand on his wrist.  
When you reach the back of the cafeteria where there are hot bars and coolers set up against the dirty white walls you each grab a colored plastic tray and get in line.  
"If they run out I'm blaming you" you say to Karkat who shoots you a glare  
"Sorry I actually carry supplies for my classes that I actually use in class and thus have to pack up afterwards instead of just carrying a half dead pen and one notebook that's just full of badly rendered dick drawings"  
"Actually its two half dead pens and one pencil, oh and I totally draw more than just dicks in my notebook" you say  
He gives you a skeptical look, raising one thick dark eyebrow high enough to be covered by the mess of dark hair that falls down over his forehead, "sweet bro and hella jeff storyboards aren't any better, Dave"  
"Hey they totally are, I'm creating my own webcomic, that's way better than the badly rendered dicks I draw for fun, this is real work, Karkat"  
"Dave you've been writing that comic since we met and I know what's in it, its all dick jokes and bad spelling" he says  
"Don't forget about the stairs, bro" you say, grinning  
"And the kool aid man" Terezi says  
"Yes, and the kool aid man" you agree  
"Look I don't care what it is, it's not fucking history notes is all I'm saying" Karkat snaps  
"Yeah because history is fuckin stupid" you say  
"Hey history is fucking great, fuck you" he snaps  
"You wish"  
"Hey no way you're mine" Terezi says, wrapping her arms around your middle and pulling you against her  
You laugh and sling an arm over her shoulders, "don't worry TZ, I would never break the bond of our committed relationship"  
Karkat rolls his eyes and turns his back to you, "get a fucking room"  
"Why get a room when we can do this shit right here with the added benefit of making you uncomfortable?" You ask  
He flips you off and you and Terezi break down in giggles

You get the last of the spicy chicken but the servings aren't as large as you would like them to be. You'll have to see what you can mooch off Kanaya in English, she always carries around extra food.  
The three of you grab the rest of your lunches and get in line at the register. When it's your turn you shove your tray into Karkat's open hand, "here, hold this" and pull your red backpack to the front so you can dig inside the pocket  
"Sure I'll just hold your fucking tray for you Strider"  
"Thank you" you say as you produce a handful of change and crumpled dollars from the front pocket of your backpack  
The lunch lady looks between you and your handful of change and gives you a small smile, "are you sure you don't need the free meal program, hun?"  
You shake your head, "nah I'm good, I got all this change to use up anyways"  
She looks skeptical but takes your change anyway and lets you by  
"Why don't you do the free meal thing anyway?" Terezi asks, still hanging off your arm  
You shrug as you sit down at an empty table in the corner, "I don't know, there's no fuckin way I was gonna ask my Bro about that. He probably would have just given me ten bucks and told me to fuck off"  
"Your Bro sounds shitty" Karkat comments, taking a bite of his spicy chicken  
You shrug, "yeah I guess but it's not like it matters anymore, we're with the Lalonde's now, even if one of our 'adults' has been in a perpetual state of intoxication since her freshman year"  
"I'm just happy you're not showing up at my house every other night now" Terezi says  
"Yeah, now I'm at your house every night" you say  
She grins, "true"

The rest of the school day goes by fast and by the time the bell rings you're ready to meet Terezi at your locker in the art room like you do every day. When you get there she's not there so you send her a message, or more like messages. Your unanswered messages tend to turn into one of two things, elaborate metaphors or freestyle raps, both are great in your opinion. She doesn't respond so you start looking around the school.

"Yo tez you back here?" You call, looking around the corner of the school building where you know she hangs out sometimes  
You spend most of your time shitting around together but this is the one place you don't go to. Gamzee hangs out back here, mostly because he's constantly getting kicked out of class, and you like to avoid him as much as possible. Terezi's tried to get you to talk before but every conversation you've ever had with the guy has just been uncomfortable and also on a dirty couch in a basement while he smokes a blunt and you chug shitty piss beer to fill the silence. Unfortunately him and Terezi are close and he's a good friend of Karkat's too so you see him around your group of friends a lot. There's no escaping the stoner that definitely hasn't showered in a week that is Gamzee Makara.  
You're about to call her name again when you hear a voice and stop.  
"Gamz I'm serious, you have to stop"  
"I ain't got to be doin nothin"  
"Why won't you listen to me!?"  
You lean around the corner to see two people standing against the wall, one tall one short  
You recognize the messy dark hair that looks like it hasn't been washed or brushed in weeks on the taller one and the summer sun glints off the sharp red lenses of the shorter ones glasses as she huffs and turns her head to glare at the ground  
"Cause I can do what I want"  
"No you can't! I'm not doing this anymore if you don't stop!" Terezi threatens, glaring up at him  
He shrugs, not looking all that concerned, "you wouldn't leave me"  
"Oh yeah?" She asks, raising one dark eyebrow above the rim of her red shades. She turns on the heel of her red crocs and moves to walk away but then there's a hand on her arm and she's being yanked back roughly  
She looks up at Gamzee in more surprise than annoyance and tries to pull her arm away, "Gamzee let go"  
He shakes his head, "ain't happenin girl"  
"I said let go" she says, trying again to pull her arm away but he keeps a firm grip  
"And I said ain't happenin" he says, tightening his grip on her wrist  
She glares up at him, "what the fuck is going on with you?"  
"Ain't nothin goin on, sister, just tryin to get my relaxation on"  
"Yeah well you 'getting your relaxation on' is starting to piss me off" she says, eyes fixed in a glare as she pries his hand off her arm  
"Then be pissed, sis" he says  
"I will be" she snaps  
A silence falls and they both stare at the ground  
"You ain't really gonna leave...are ya?" Gamzee asks  
Terezi takes a shaking breath and sighs, shaking her head, "no I just...I don't know if I can keep doing this"  
"What's got you up and gettin your worry on?" He asks, reaching out and touching her cheek  
You frown, he was always one of those people that had no sense of personal space but still something about him touching her face like that makes your stomach twist in discomfort  
"It's Dave..." Terezi says, biting her lip and looking down  
Gamzee looks taken aback, "this is about Strider? Baby we got way more than you an him ever did"  
She crosses her arms over her chest and hunches her shoulders, looking upset  
"He's my friend Gamzee..."  
"Then stay friends, fuck, keep fuckin him for all I fuckin care, just don't be leavin cause you feelin guilty" Gamzee says  
She shakes her head, "we don't- I mean I just- I can't keep doing this to him"  
"Then motherfuckin choose, sister"  
"I can't..."  
"Well then stop fuckin whinin" he says  
She holds herself and glares at the ground, blinking back tears behind her glasses  
"What, don't you wanna be with me?" Gamzee asks, taking her cheek in his hand and tipping her head up. She keeps her eye averted  
"Look at me, baby girl" he says, leaning down to try to make eye contact with her  
She bites her lip and puts her small hand over his, nodding  
He smiles and then he's kissing her  
Your stomach twists with nausea as he roughly presses his lips to hers but what really makes you sick is when, after a pause, she starts to kiss him back  
He has her up against the wall and his hands are moving down and nope, nope nope nope nope nope, you are not watching this  
Feeling like you're going to throw up you turn and start to walk away when you hear Terezi say something  
"W-wait"  
She tries to pull back but Gamzee ignores her  
She starts to struggle, pushing at his chest, "Gamzee stop"  
His hold on her tightens  
"I said stop!" She yells, shoving him away from her  
He stumbles back, a look of shock on his face  
The shock only lasts a few seconds though before his face hardens and he does something that makes you sure you're going to puke  
He hits her hard across the face and she stumbles back against the wall  
She stares blankly at the ground and raises a shaking hand to her cheek. She looks up at him and you can't tell if it's fear or just shock on her face.His hazy eyes widen and he reaches for her but she pushes him away, shaking her head  
"Baby girl-" he starts but she cuts him off  
"Stop, don't touch me" she says, hugging herself tightly  
He blinks in confusion and honestly you feel about the same way right now  
What the fuck is going on, how is she not running away, fuck how are you just standing here watching this happen  
She looks down, refusing to meet his eyes, "I have to go, Dave is probably looking for me"  
"Wait Terezi-"  
"Stop, I don't want to hear it Gamzee, I'll see you tomorrow" she says, pushing passed him and disappearing around the side of the building.  
Gamzee looks legitimately upset as he raises his head and his eyes land directly on you  
You lock eyes and there's anger in his just as you're sure that behind your shades you look ready to kick some juggalo ass  
He walks up to you, eyes on you, and bumps his shoulder roughly into yours as he passes  
As he disappears into the crow of students you're left standing there behind the school, wondering what the fuck just happened

You break up with her that night and the next day she shows up to school with a bruise on her face. When people ask she says she ran into the door. You know that's not true.  
Maybe part of you was hoping that she would choose you, that you trying to end things would make her leave Gamzee, because now you know just how fucked up he is. But she didn't, she chose him, and it hurt in more ways than one. But what else can you expect when your girlfriend leaves you for a stoner juggalo that hits her.  
Terezi distances herself from you after that. You always sat together in art but when you go into school the next day she's sitting at a table with Nepeta. She meets your eyes and you expect to see anger there, what else would you expect from someone you just broke up with, but she doesn't look angry, she just looks sad, and that hurts more than anything.  
Still, you tell yourself it had to be this way, you can't let yourself stay in a relationship you're not comfortable in, and you can't let her do this to herself, you're not going to be part of it. She wouldn't make the choice so you made it for her.  
For weeks she avoids you and you feel like you've lost a best friend. Things aren't the same without her  
You're sitting in the parking lot outside the high school, waiting for Rose to get out of her debate club meeting. You have your earphones in and you're jamming to some sick tunes

  
_Cause I'm gonna make_  
_Gonna make_  
_Gonna make you wish_  
_Instead of hate that you taught_  
_That you taught me kindness_  
_Im gonna make_  
_gonna make you_  
_Hate_

  
You're so into Nichole Dollanganger's new EP that you don't notice as another person walks over and takes a seat on the curb beside you.  
A small hand takes hold of your sweatshirt sleeve and you jump, your heart beating in your ears. You look over, almost expecting to see Bro standing there ready to strife, but it's just Terezi.  
The bruise on her face has healed in the last few weeks  
You pull out your earphones, "uh, hey TZ...what's up?"  
She shrugs, "nothing, just waiting for Vriska to get out of detention"  
You nod, like you Vriska is a regular in detention. You wonder what she did this time, you usually just get in trouble for being late or goofing off but with her it's always something different and somehow each time she manages to outdo herself.  
"She broke into the vending machine" Terezi explains before you can ask  
"Did she at least get some free shit?" You ask  
Terezi laughs, "yeah she got about eight blue Poweraids before someone caught her"  
You laugh and take out your other earphone, "so, how's shit been?" You ask, glancing over at her  
She shrugs, "you know, the usual bullshit, it's not the same without you there though"  
You bite your cheek and look down at where your feet sit on the asphalt  
"Look...I don't know what I did but whatever it is I'm sorry. I don't care if we're not dating, I just want us to be friends again" she says  
You think back to her and Gamzee kissing, to him hitting her, to the bruise on her face.  
But you want to be friends again too. Maybe what happened with Gamzee was just a one time thing, but you're not dating anymore so it's none of your business what she does. Maybe you can just be friends, you always did make a good team.  
"Yeah...me too" you say  
She grins and throws her arm around you, letting her head fall against your shoulder  
"I missed you, coolkid"  
You smile and hold her back, "I missed you too, Tez"

 

 


End file.
